Israeli politics were in an uproar Wednesday after Israel Hayom published a draft of Religious Services Minister Matan Kahana's proposed reforms to current law on the process of conversion to Judaism, which would recognize conversions that are not approved by the Chief Rabbinate.

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According to the draft bill obtained by Israel Hayom, despite Kahana's commitment that his proposed reforms would maintain the authority of the Chief Rabbinate to oversee the conversion process, the bill actually cancels the Chief Rabbinate's authorities in the matter and proposes that a new system be established to handle conversions, which will be conducted by city rabbis. This would allow each city rabbi to rule on the required standards for conversion.

The proposed reforms also set easier criteria for conversions conducted by city rabbis.

The Religious Zionist Party issued a statement responding to the proposed changes: "The details revealed today about the conversion law that Matan Kahana is preparing and the internal communications in his ministry demonstrate that Kahana is fooling the rabbis when he tells them that his reforms will uphold the status of the Chief Rabbinate in ruling in matters of conversion, and that conversion will be supervised by the rabbinate.

"Based on what the minister's representatives are saying, it turns out that the truth is utterly differently. The bill Kahana plans to present to the Knesset completely eradicates the authority of the Chief Rabbinate, and completely privatizes conversion in Israel and opens the door to Reform and Conservative conversions," the party said.

The statement from the Religious Zionist Party went on: "The reports indicate that Kahana, who apparently fears [Labor MK] Gilad Kariv, isn't even trying to use the bill to close the holes that the High Court of Justice poked in conversion matters and make the minimum decree that Israel will recognize government-supervised conversions only. Thus, Kahana will allow Reform and Conservative conversions to be recognized, something that will seriously hurt the unity of the people and dupe the converts. We call on Minister Kahana to step back from his intention of dismantling government-run conversion and tearing the people apart."

MK Shlomo Karhi (Likud) said, "Under the table, Minister Kahana is selling Judaism to the Reformists. He is breaking down the fence of kashruth … and now he wants to break down Judaism's last line of defense and mix Israel in with other nations. He will be remembered for this."

Chairman of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, MK Itamar Ben-Gvir, said, "Kahana is allowing Reform [Jews] to conduct 'express' conversions, thus diving the public, hurting Jewish tradition, and what's worse, leading to polarization and rifts in Israeli society. This isn't a reform that will move us forward, but rather a primitive policy wrapped up in empty slogans that goes against Jewish law."

Kahana's staff rejected the criticism, saying that the bill had been through multiple drafts and the current one would also see alterations.

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A father and son practicing as Orthodox rabbis in America have been accused by anti-missionary investigators of being secret evangelical Christians, the British Jewish Chronicle reported.

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According to the report, the claims regarding Michael and Calev Isaacson – who have changed their family name from Dawson — would cause disastrous halachic problems for the Jewish community if true.

The two men reportedly performed sacred rituals such as writing Torah scrolls, washing the dead, and conducting weddings, divorces and even conversions.

Investigators allege neither man is Jewish, making any rituals in which they took part invalid, the Jewish Chronicle reported.

They two are suspected of being a "sleeper cell" of evangelical Christians who may ultimately attempt to make aliyah and embed themselves within Israeli society, the report continued.

This week's front page pic.twitter.com/cTJ6XGnIIq

— The Jewish Chronicle (@JewishChron) October 21, 2021

"Extensive research" has found that the Isaacsons, who have been accepted and welcomed in a number of Orthodox Jewish communities across the US, has reportedly "shown no evidence of traceable Jewish heritage or any official conversion by members of the Isaacson family," according to the Jewish Chronicle.

An investigation by the Jewish Chronicle revealed that Michael Dawson grew up in a Lutheran home and he and his wife were married in a Lutheran wedding.

An aunt of Michael Isaacson was shocked to hear about his professed Jewish identity, telling the Jewish Chronicle she found his claims over his background "bizarre".

There is no evidence that the Isaacsons are attempting to convert Jews to Christianity, but, it should be noted, they have also refused to renounce their belief in Jesus.

The Isaacsons currently reside in Phoenix, Arizona. The family was based in Texas between 2014 and 2016, when Michael Isaacson worked as a supervisor in the Houston Kashrut Association.

They have also lived as Orthodox Jews in Portland, Oregon and Milwaukee.

Investigators at anti-missionary organization Beynenyu claim the family always moves to a different location once confronted by suspicious rabbis and fellow members of their community.

According to a letter sent by investigators at Beyneynu to the Chief Rabbinate's office in Israel, the Jewish Chronicle reported, the Isaacson family was questioned in the past by suspicious rabbis who had heard rumors of their Christianity. The letter said: "They do not deny their beliefs in Jesus and give detailed explanations regarding their belief that Jesus is the Jewish messiah."

Beyneynu says that immediately after these confrontations, they have more than once fled the community, only to resurface elsewhere.

During their travels, the family has reportedly acquired documentation from rabbinical authorities attesting to their Jewish identity without proper checks being made to ensure their claims were accurate. This has enabled them to build an identity as Jews, which Beyneynu fears they plan to use eventually to immigrate to Israel.

Talking to the Jewish Chronicle, an Orthodox teacher in America who wished to remain anonymous, said he met Michael Isaacson and his wife, Summer, multiple times.

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"I would have no reason to suspect that they were anything more than just sort of California-style Ba'ale Teshuva," he said.

He believes their ultimate aim is to create "a backstory" that will allow their children to marry Jews. Ultimately, he told the Jewish Chronicle, he thinks they are part of a wider Messianic plan to create a sleeper-cell of fake religious Jews in Israel.

"There is some movement afoot… for some reason, they need there to be an Orthodox looking, observant, Christian body in Israel. I don't know exactly how this fits into their Messianic scheme, or the whys, but this seems to be what they're doing.

"It's very important that they all become rabbis, that they all have beards and payot (sidelocks) like they have to be full-on Haredi. It's very important that they all have this look, they do this dance, and yet they don't."

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A new bill advanced by Knesset member Uriel Buso of the Sephardic ultra-Orthodox Shas party aims to provide financial aid to Israeli Jews who leave the secular world and become religious, similar to that given to new immigrants upon their arrival in Israel.

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Buso proposed the legislation in response to another bill, advanced by Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg, which seeks to grant monetary aid to ultra-Orthodox Israelis who decide to no longer be religious – in an effort to help them complete their secondary education and go to university.

Buso's bill aims to get the state to recognize secular Israeli Jews who become religious – known as hozrim betshuva – by awarding them the same financial aid, or "absorption basket," given to new immigrants.

As per the bill, every Israeli Jew who leaves his or her secular community and becomes ultra-Orthodox will be eligible for the assistance regardless of their age, gender, or marital status.

If in a Jewish state – where Torah study is of supreme value – the government wants to provide absorption baskets to Jews who leave the religious way of life, then all the more so it should assist those who decide to begin adhering to it, according to the bill.

It further explained that returning to religion carried with it challenges similar to those encountered by new immigrants when entering a society they know nothing about.

"This process is in many ways similar to what new immigrants go through, and in some ways, it is even more difficult," the bill said, stressing that financial aid would help them "acclimatize immediately."

Knesset members are scheduled to deliberate on the matter on Thursday.

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Jacob Steinmetz's blazing fastball helped make him a baseball draft trailblazer.

The New York native is believed to be the first known practicing Orthodox Jewish player to be selected by a major league team, going in the third round – 77th overall – to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.

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The 6-foot-5, 222-pound Steinmetz, from the Long Island hamlet of Woodmere, is a 17-year-old right-hander whose repertoire features a fastball that sits in the mid- to upper-90s and a knee-buckling curveball. His draft stock rose considerably while playing for the Elev8 Baseball Academy in Delray Beach, Florida, this year after previously competing for his high school team, The Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway.

Steinmetz recently told the New York Post he keeps the Sabbath and eats only Kosher food, but plays during the Sabbath and on Jewish holidays – although he walks to games during the Sabbath rather than taking transportation. No practicing Orthodox Jewish player has made it to the big leagues.

"It's never been frustrating to me," Steinmetz told the New York Post. "It's just something I've always done. It makes me who I am. It's definitely made [my life] different, but in a good way."

Steinmetz's summer coach Daniel Corona told the New York Post that he believes Steinmetz's dual commitment to baseball and Judaism has made him truly special.

"There's a difference between being committed, doing all this hard work and having this extra layer," Corona said. "I don't know if there's ever going to be another Jacob, as far as this whole process goes. He set an example that anything is possible as far as being committed to multiple things at once and still believing in yourself, your dreams, to make them happen."

Prior to the draft, Steinmetz had already committed to Fordham University in the Bronx and didn't want to pitch anywhere else. Now, however, after the Diamondbacks called his name, he has an important decision to make: go to college and play for Fordham, or sign with the Diamondbacks.

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Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai has spoken with the heads of the international Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform movements and told them, speaking for Israel's new government, that he was committed to "Israel being open to all three streams, and recognizing them on an equal basis."

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When Shai took over at the Diaspora Affairs Ministry, he held a round of phone conversations with Rabbi Moshe Hauer, head of the Orthodox Union; Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal, head of the Conservative Movement; and Rabbi Rick Jacobs, head of the Union for Reform Judaism.

Shai stressed his personal commitment, as well as that of the new government's, to ensuring that Israel be open to all streams of Judaism and Jewish communities.

Shai also said he would do everything in his power to strengthen ties between the Diaspora Affair Ministry, the Israeli government, and all parts of the Diaspora.

The leaders of the various movement welcomed Shai to the role and expressed their desire for cooperation and dialogue.

"I expect to continue to strengthen ties with Jewish leadership and communities around the world, with the goal being to form a good, strong relationship between Diaspora Jewry and Israel," Shai said, adding, "the Jewish tent is a big one, and it can and should include all streams and communities of the Jewish people."

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison and President Reuven Rivlin discussed their "strong commitment to seeing justice" in the case of the former principal, Malka Leifer, during a meeting at Parliament House, officials said.

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An opposition lawmaker said Rivlin had offered to personally intervene in the case if progress is not made in court this week.

Leifer has been fighting extradition from Israel for six years and the legal wrangle to bring her before an Australian court has caused a diplomatic strain between the allies.

Rivlin has been criticized for declining an invitation to meet three of the alleged victims during his visit this week to the Australian city of Melbourne, where Leifer was the principal of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish school until 2008.

Lawmaker Josh Burns, who represents an electorate where the three alleged victims – sisters Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper – live, said he raised their plight when Rivlin held a meeting with senior opposition lawmakers.

The Associated Press does not usually identify alleged victims of sexual abuse, but the siblings have spoken publicly about their allegations.

"I was pleased that President Rivlin advised me that if hearings scheduled this week do not see this matter progress towards Malka Leifer being extradited to Australia, he will personally meet with the Chief Justice of Israel to discuss how this matter can be expedited," Burns said in a statement, referring to President of the Supreme Court of Israel Esther Hayut.

"This matter has dragged on far too long. These victims deserve justice and I will continue to fight until Malka Leifer is back in Australia facing trial," Burns added.

Rivlin's office did not immediately respond to a request for details of any undertakings regarding the case he had given during his visit to Australia.

Erlich wrote in a letter to Rivlin through the Israeli Embassy in Australia after the president declined to meet the siblings, "We did not wish to ask you to interfere with the judicial process, only that you use your authority to ensure this case ends in a timely manner."

"Sadly, the president has underestimated the importance of this case to the Jewish and wider Australian community and the supportive encouragement that such a meeting would produce," she added.

Manny Waks, Melbourne-based chief executive of Kol v'Oz, a Jewish organization that combats child sex abuse, said it was "regrettable" that the president could not find time to meet the sisters while in Melbourne.

"It seems President Rivlin has his priorities wrong on this trip," Waks told The Australian newspaper.

Neither Morrison nor Rivlin mentioned the case during brief public comments they made in Canberra, Australia's capital, before their bilateral meeting.

Morrison praised the "stridency of the judiciary" in Israel as one of the "great principles and values that underpin freedom" for which Israel stands.

On Leifer, Rivlin told Australian Jewish News in a recent interview that he was "confident that Israel does not allow those who have committed crimes to avoid justice."

"I understand how painful and difficult the case of Malka Leifer is for the Australian Jewish community and for Australians generally," he said.

"The professional opinion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice and the State Prosecutor's Office is that the extradition should be carried out as soon as possible and are doing everything possible to expedite it," Rivlin added.

Australia requested Leifer's extradition in 2014 on 74 charges of child sex abuse and more than 60 Israeli court hearings have followed.

The Jerusalem District Court last month granted Leifer's attorneys' request to review a psychiatrists' ruling that she is fit to stand trial for extradition.

Burns, the opposition lawmaker, and government lawmaker Dave Sharma, a former Australian ambassador to Israel, introduced a motion in Parliament earlier this month demanding Israel immediately extradite Leifer.

A date for a vote on the motion has yet to be set, but it is expected to be carried with the major parties' support.

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Weinberg, whose brand is known as Dini Wigs, wants haredi women to look like Kim Kardashian and Melania Trump. At least that is the impression shoppers will get if they enter her new store in Jerusalem.

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Some Jewish women cover their hair after marriage. This, as Weinberg told Israel Hayom, creates a vibrant, dynamic industry of head-coverings ranging from scarves of all colors of the rainbow to hats of assorted shapes and styles, and of course, there are wigs.

"The wig has the double bonus of covering the hair while, simultaneously, appearing completely natural and, in most cases, more beautiful than the woman's natural hair," explains the fashion wig stylist, who has handcrafted thousands of custom wigs throughout the past decades.

"Every woman has her preference, color, and style. There are those who go for the sexy elegance of Kim Kardashian; others want Selena Gomez's sleekness; and still others strive for Melania's chic professionalism," she told Israel Hayom.

A wig can cost anywhere between $3,000 to $12,000, but according to Weinberg, it's an investment that pays off.

"What's incredible about wig design is that we're not limited to a woman's natural hair. Here, the possibilities are endless, and for every face we custom craft a wig to accentuate the woman's natural beauty," she says.

Weinberg insists that her wigs are not just for the Orthodox community.

"Women everywhere want – and deserve – to look sensational, and a custom wig that's impeccably styled to her features is a virtually effortless way to start."

Weinberg immigrated from Israel to the US many years ago to study hair and wig styling. Her first wig factory and salon opened in Monsey, NY.

She currently employs over 100 workers. Her latest store is the second in Israel's capital.

"Though I'm a patriotic Israeli, I wanted to start out in the US, where I could draw inspiration from the fashion scene. Now I'm coming back home and opening a branch here in Jerusalem where I can spread the beauty, comfort, sophistication, and flair to my fellow Israelis."

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Israeli political battle lines often fracture along how the country balances Jewish religion and liberal democracy. These tensions were a central issue in this week's national election, and are sure to influence the composition of the country's next government.

While the country's Jewish majority is largely secular, parties representing the ultra-Orthodox minority have traditionally wielded considerable political power.

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Acting as coalition kingmakers, religious parties hold a monopoly on many areas of daily life, from the closure of stores and public transport on Shabbat to Jewish burial and marriage rites.

Israel has granted the ultra-Orthodox community sweeping exemptions from the country's mandatory military draft. This has built resentment among the secular majority, who are required to serve.

After Israel held elections last April, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's prospective governing coalition collapsed because a secular ally, Yisrael Beytenu party leader Avigdor Lieberman, insisted on legislation to force young ultra-Orthodox men to also serve in the military.

Playing on this theme, Lieberman's party boosted its strength in Tuesday's election and is poised to be a central player in the next coalition government. He is insisting on a broad secular partnership with the country's two largest parties.

"Israelis voted more on religion and state as a result of the political growth and appetite of the ultra-Orthodox parties," said Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank.

Of Israel's 9 million people, 75% are Jewish. Most of the population is secular, traditional, or Modern Orthodox, and 14% are ultra-Orthodox, according to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics. Another 20% of the population is made up by the country's Muslim, Christian and Druze Arabs.

As coalition negotiations get set to begin, here's a look at religion's role in Israeli politics:

Orthodox

The two ultra-Orthodox parties – the predominantly Ashkenazi United Torah Judaism and Sephardi Shas party representing Jews of Middle Eastern descent – and the national religious Yamina faction, advocate a greater place for Orthodox Judaism in state life, including religious education and shutting public transportation on Shabbat.

They also have rejected efforts to dissolve a long-standing exemption for religious men to study in seminaries in lieu of having to serve in the military.

Religious Jewish parties won nearly 20% of the vote in Tuesday's repeat election. In recent decades, those parties have typically united with the conservative Likud party to form a governing coalition. But this time, the religious-nationalist bloc fell short of a majority in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, winning only 55 of the 120 seats.

Secular

Several of the main liberal parties – Blue and White, Yisrael Beytenu, Labor, and the Democratic Union – ran on a secular platform, advocating measures such as universal military draft that includes ultra-Orthodox men and civil marriage. Currently, all Jewish marriages in Israel must be performed by the country's Orthodox Rabbinate, which requires that both partners be Jewish and that the ceremony adhere to Orthodox custom.

Lieberman's staunchly secular Yisrael Beytenu party is supported mainly by mostly nonreligious, Russian-speaking immigrants from the former Soviet Union.

Blue and White, headed by former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, campaigned ahead of election day with ads calling for a "secular national unity government." Those calls were echoed by Lieberman, who supports a partnership with Gantz and Netanyahu that excludes the ultra-Orthodox parties.

Arabs

The majority of Israel's roughly 20% Arab minority are Sunni Muslims, with the remainder made up of Druze and Christians. Most self-define as traditional or religious, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics. The Joint Arab List, a union of four smaller factions, including a secular nationalist, an Islamist, and a communist party, won a projected 13 seats in the Knesset. Most Arabs tend to vote based on national identity rather than along religious lines.

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Mental and emotional health deficiencies are frequently shrouded in a desperate web of concealment, and traumas that should be treated and resolved in advance are often swept under the table with the unfortunate means justifying the sacred end of engagement and marriage.

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Amudim, an international association and crisis center combating sexual abuse and addictions in the Orthodox community, supports abuse victims and their spouses and is committed to saving their marriages from collapse.

This is done by partnering with Beis Din Vaad Hadin V'Hora'ah in Monsey, under the auspices of Rabbi Eliyahu Grodny, rosh yeshiva of Mir in New York. Amudim is in the midst of driving a new effort to raise awareness and focus on couples who are on the brink of divorce due to serious addictions or sexual abuse at the hand of a third party.

"Only abuse victims and their families are aware of just how profoundly and permanently such incidents can affect their lives, and the same applies to trauma and addiction," explains an Amudim case manager. "Without proper treatment and guidance, the collateral damage can be deeply injurious to a loved one – be it a spouse or child – whereas the right formula of help can save an entire family."

One case exemplifying the crucial assistance provided by Amudim deals with a young woman who was unknowingly abused by her doctor for many years.

After her marriage, she relocated to a different city, where her new doctor didn't perform similar invasive tests and she was dismayed to discover the years of abuse that she'd experienced. Her marriage suffered terribly as a result, to the point that the couple began exploring the possibility of divorce.

She and her husband referred them to Amudim, which paired them with a case manager who referred them to therapists equipped to handle these painful issues.

According to Amudim, Following months of intensive therapy and support, including Amudim's counterintuitive recommendation that her husband see a therapist as well, their marriage, which nearly disintegrated due to prior abuse, was saved.

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The decision was announced Thursday in response to a legal challenge by non-Orthodox streams that called the exclusion of non-Orthodox rabbis discriminatory.

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Under the compromise reached with the petitioners, families of fallen soldiers would get to decide whether the ceremony would be officiated by a military rabbi, the default option, or whether to have it run by religious figures from other Jewish streams.

The new rules mean that Conservative and Reform rabbis, including women, will have the same status as Orthodox rabbis in military funerals even though they are not officially recognized by the state.

However, the military will still be allowed to veto a family's request if their choice of a rabbi would drastically change the burial procedures or undermine the sanctity of the chosen cemetery.

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